DRC Activists Take on Vodacom & Others Over Internet Shutdowns

Interrupting or interfering with access to the Internet, without any explanation or reimbursement. This constitutes a failure to accomplish own obligation to supply services to Congolese who had paid for megabytes in exchange for the promise of guaranteed free usage, accordingly.

Refusing to communicate or notify clients about negative incidents that might negatively impact their rights. Companies never informed, but rather tried to justify, afterward, and even presented excuses for prejudices caused to clients.

In some other cases, companies are accused of following politically motivated orders. They never complained about it or quit the DRC, while it has been established that orders to interrupt or interfere with access to Internet were clearly illegal.

After a retrospective analysis of circumstances surrounding the five instances of disruption of access to Internet, it appears that there were only politically motivated. This causes us to believe that telecommunications’ multinational companies have integrated the political repressive machinery of the political system in power, to the detriment of the Congolese, their clients.